


Normal is Overrated

by zarabithia



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 20:30:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2322212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Playgrounds are a little overwhelming, but not always in a bad way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Normal is Overrated

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by so many things. Sam is not his personal therapist, but he keeps telling Bucky that is normal. Sam tells him this while they both have a rifle hoisted on their shoulder, and Bucky will listen to the advice while outwardly telling him that neither of them know anything about normal. 

(Sam will cup Steve’s backside when the four of them have lunch; he will smirk as Steve presses him against the counter and say, “Normal is sometimes overrated.” ) 

But Dr. Kaplan agrees with Sam, and her actual job is being Bucky’s therapist. So fine. Two people that Bucky respects tell him that it’s normal to get overwhelmed.

Still, Bucky feels a little ridiculous, being overwhelmed on a fucking playground. 

It’s … there’s too many memories that Hydra stole away from him. Too many memories that Bucky clung tightly to as he slipped into that deep freeze, knowing that they intended to steal them away. 

There’s too many memories of a scrawny little punk who accepted Bucky’s friendship immediately and never stopped returning it. There’s too many memories of standing in front of an exhibit and being told about a playground friendship that he could barely remember.

It feels fucking ridiculous, though. 

But he has a job to do, and watching out for Ace is important enough that Bucky prioritizes it over his own discomfort. It isn’t easy to do - but it hadn’t been easy to do when his toes had been numb in the cold factories that paid a check the kid with the heart condition needed back home, either. 

It helps a good deal when Mike finishes pushing Ace on the swing and comes over to stand beside Bucky while Ace runs up to the slide. 

"Ace keeps telling me that Captain America doesn’t need a parachute to jump out of a plane, so he should be able to jump off a swing." Mike’s voice is gruff, but full of affection when he teases, "I think it’s time to officially call Steve Rogers a bad influence." 

Steve’s not the one who is a bad influence, and Bucky might tell him so - Bucky would tell him so - except Mike takes advantage of the early morning relative quiet of the park and slips an easy arm around Bucky’s shoulders. 

There are still people who would care about that, but the park’s too empty for them to show up and matter. Bucky still tenses, and Mike regards him quietly, because both of them have … touch issues. But after a moment, Bucky finds himself leaning into the touch and Mike keeps holding on. 

Bucky’s grateful, so grateful, for that patience. 

"Not as bad as you expected it would be?" Mike asks, and Bucky does not have time to answer before two child-sized arms are wrapped around his knees. 

"I’ve almost got the monkey bars," Ace tells him. "Want to come see?" 

It’s child code for “I keep falling in the middle and you need to come catch me,” and it is so very familiar that Bucky suspects Steve Rogers is just the right type of influence to keep giving Ace after all. 

"Of course I do," Bucky says and he offers his right hand. 

Ace slips one hand into his and another into Mike’s and begins tugging them towards the monkey bars. Mike smiles over Ace’s head and mouths, “Dad duty calls.” 

That’s another type of overwhelming, but it certainly isn’t the bad kind.


End file.
